Larsen school students inspired by ‘monster’ truck event

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Custodian Mike Bono (left) and teacher Diane Peterson try to get a better look at the Mohawk Warrior monster truck Thursday at Larsen Middle School in Elgin. | Michael Smart~Sun-Times Media

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Updated: March 11, 2012 8:45AM

ELGIN — When Ken Hudgens was a student at Larsen Middle School, he had two goals: to play basketball in Division 1 and to play basketball for the NBA.

Hudgens got as far as a basketball scholarship to Eastern Washington University before, he said, he realized he probably wasn’t good enough to play professionally.

On Thursday, he came back to Larsen to tell students about “a lot of weird stuff you can do out there later in life,” he said.

And he came with one of the 50 or so monster trucks that are part of Feld Motor Sports, where he now is chief operating officer. That truck, the Mohawk Warrior, will be featured in the Advance Auto Parts Monster Jam on Friday through Saturday at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont.

“Thirty years ago, I was sitting where you’re sitting, and I never knew a job like this — that was so much fun — existed,” Hudgens said.

Monster trucks average about 12 feet tall — their tires alone are more than 5 feet across — and weigh 5 tons, according to a video he showed students during his presentation.

During a Monster Jam, the trucks can fly 40 feet into the air and reach 60 miles per hour in less than three seconds while racing and freestyling over obstacles, the video said. They compete in more than 350 of those events each year in both North America and Europe.

Before the Larsen grad’s presentation, students swarmed the black and purple monster truck parked just behind their school, smartphone cameras raised.

The vehicle is the first monster truck to sport a tall, jet-black, razor-sharp Mohawk down the roof on its SUV body, according to MonsterJam.com. That matches the hairstyle of its driver, George Balhan.

Hair, school advice

A gaggle of seventh-grade girls squealed after asking Balhan to autograph their hands. Julyssa Bueno of Elgin even had him sign the school ID that dangled from her pink hoodie.

And, Julyssa said, “I touched his hair. It was hard.”

Many of the questions from students were about Balhan’s hair: How tall is it? How does he get it to do that?

Six minutes with a blow dryer and enough hairspray that it springs back when he takes off his helmet, the driver said. And when it’s tall enough to touch the cab of his everyday ride, a Ford F-150 truck, it’s time for a haircut.

Others asked about his tattoos (he warned them to think about a tattoo first and make sure it was something they could live with) and how he became a monster truck driver.

Balhan came to the sport after riding motocross motorcycles all his life. He turned pro at 16 but then, like Hudgens, decided he probably wasn’t good enough to make it, he said. Others have started as mechanics or driving their own trucks as a hobby, he added.

“Family, friends and getting a good education” are important, the driver told students, “because you never know where you’re going to end up. I never thought I would be talking to a middle school, but I’m blessed to be doing it.”

Thursday was a good time to talk to students about those aspirations and goals for the future, as the school heads into ISAT testing, according to Larsen Assistant Principal Aldo Calderin.

And at least one student was inspired by more than the monster trucks and Mohawks and tattoos. Eighth-grader Terrance Miller Allen said he’d like a job like Hudgens’.

“I want to travel like he does. That’s amazing that he grew up over here, too,” Terrance said.

More information about the Monster Jam this weekend at Allstate Arena is online at www.allstatearena.com.